Ali G Dishes Dirt On TFC
Some of the chatter doing the rounds before the Caps season started was that we were about to sign TFC reject Ali Gerba.
Now how close this was to becoming a reality I don’t know, but it didn’t happen for whatever reasons and I don’t think it was a big loss for the Whitecaps.
Even though we do seriously need a proven goalscorer at the moment, Gerba doesn’t have the top level credentials I feel we’re looking for. He was a flop at Toronto in the MLS, arguably the highest level League he has played in, with just one goal in 11 appearances. His international goal record is impressive on paper but he hasn’t turned it on the same way at club level when he’s needed to.
Why was he a flop though in the MLS? Was there more to it? Well he seems to think so, citing playing with a knee injury, and if you haven’t already seen this interesting interview doing the rounds from The Score’s website, then check it out:
http://video.thescore.com/videos/4hOecGYZUD1I8Nc4kdaplLFw4OrQcAaI?width=400&height=226
It’s a very interesting interview with regards to what comes across as the shambles that is Toronto FC right now.
That said, you have to possibly take some of what is said with a pinch of salt. He says he doesn’t have an axe to grind and is not just being bitter and out for revenge, but he is clearly unhappy with what went on and how he left. This is a man after all that has played for 14 clubs in 11 years (albeit turning out 3 times for the Montreal Impact and twice for the Toronto Lynx in that time), which should raise some questions in itself.
Watching the interview, all I could think of was that it came across like a “shoot” interview in wrestling. Gerba was very composed and articulate the whole time however and came across very well meaning in taking these “problems” public.
Gerba is particularly critical of TFC Manager and Director of Football Mo Johnston and new head coach Predrag “Preki” Radosavljević and all of the “politics” involved at the football club and “how nasty it can get”.
Preki’s tactics are slated and he hints that he may not have the full support of the dressing room. There appears to be a lack of enjoyment there. Not good news for TFC fans but great news for the Caps facing them soon in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship games.
Gerba also talks about the “lack of professionalism” when coming to treating individuals, but not how the club itself is run. MoJo is also accused of making some bad decisions, to the detriment of TFC making the playoffs. This of course will just add fuel to the fire of the TFC fans who have had enough failure and want him out immediately.
In between all the dirty laundry, the interview does possibly give us the quote of the season:
“They treat me like, I don’t know if I was a rapist or some kind of a bad influence on the dressing room”
WTF!!!
So was he not given a fair chance or did he just not make the grade and wants to hit back? We’ll possibly never know, but there is still an outside chance that he could end up playing in the MLS with the Whitecaps or Montreal down the road. Then we’ll know if he is just bitter or has a case.
Although I’ve just said that the Caps not signing him wasn’t a big loss, I’d be prepared to give him his chance here, as long as he was fully fit when he got here and that he isn’t a bad influence on the dressing room (he says he is far from being that).
More pleasing to the ears of Caps fans was Gerba’s feeling that Vancouver (and Montreal) are more likely to reach the playoffs before Toronto do! I think that’s something we all feel!
In the meantime, if I was a TFC fan just now, this interview would make me more angry around what is happening at the club than I possibly already was. There’s certainly a lot of questions that have come out of Gerba’s interview.
How the club will address these to appease the fans will be very interesting or they can just ignore them and pretend that everything in the MLSE garden is rosy. It could be a very long season for TFC fans, but not in a playoff sense.
Roll on May 19th.
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I enjoy piling on KFC as much as the next guy but youre being a queen size douche.
More pleasing to the ears of Caps fans was Gerba's feeling that Vancouver (and Montreal) are more likely to reach the playoffs before Toronto do! I think that's something we all feel!
You seriously feel pleased that a spurned player thinks your team is better than the one that fired him?
Really? Are you so lacking in confidence that this actually makes you think that you are better?
Look at the facts and ask yourself if an NHL player was let go under these circumstances, would we even bother listening to this?
Is KFC badly run?
I think Mo is a moron and anyone who asks either isnt paying attention or knows little.
Just ask yourself why Nick Garcia is even playing in the MLS.
Anyone but Mo is obvious.
The Preki think though is another think.
Its called life as a professional.
KFC had cliques, self involved individuals like Guevara and lots of lazy ass deadwood.
Preki is a hard ass and like many great hockey coaches like Keenan, Pat Burns and others, he's gonna make the hard choices and if he hurts someones feelings, thats too bad.
Look at what he did, he decided that if youre gonna be a mediocre team, you might as well be a mediocre team that is going to play hard and compete than a more talented team will lose a must win final game 5-0 like last year.
As a coach, if you lose, youre gonna do it on the coaches terms.
They have a strong center like with D-Ro, Guzman, Attakora and Frei and the rest hes gonna try to plug in guys who hustle.
Btw, Guzman is and will be a bust.
The guy was a defensive midfielder in europe for a decade and now they want him to be a creator, a midfield general now.
Gerba was a fat lazy bastard last year (being hurt is no reason to pile on pounds) and this year guess what?
The new coach says no more club med, youre gonna run. A lot. Really a lot.
Guess what lazy fat ass couldnt hack a professional training session and was told to stay home after just a few days.
Did Preki have it in for him?
Why? Did he know him before?
It says a lot that Preki saw Gerba in training and said this slacker isnt going to change.
Look at his wiki page and you will see that there is a pattern there.
Ask Montreal fans if they want him back a third time and ask yourself if the Stephon Marbury's of the world are worth the extra hassle and drama.
Ask yourself why team number 13 would be different? The worse answer is the types that think that THEY know better than others, than THEY will somehow solve the problems others havent.
Ask yourself if you really want that.
Then ask yourself when the last time you cared about what a fired hockey player has to say when they have been so embarassingly dropped in training camp.
There is little happening in canadian soccer and this tittilates just like gossip always do..
of course, if Im a potential suitor for Gerba and I see his track record AND I see this interview, I think about it twice now.
This might have felt good for Gerba to unleash against a team that embarassed him so but if im his agent Im probably saying “You dumbass, you giant DUMBASS!!”
I dont think anyone ever taught him the saying: “Cutting off the nose to spite the face”
But dont forget that when your cutting out cancers, its never going to be easy or pretty. Problem is Preki wil cut out the cancer but you still have Mo staffing the team. That is going to be still the problem.
Mo Johnston is an idiot and it didnt take a fat bastard to tell us that.
Gerba has definitely done himself a lot of harm to potential clubs with an interview like this. As you say, his track record of so many clubs does indicate a common problem – in him.
Will be interesting to see where he does end up. Some clubs are always prepared to take a gamble of course.
Amazing how people will respond when they can post as “anonymous”. Better hide the goats!
tfc suck we will make the playoffs b4 them